Newbie with aluminum system

[occamsblade]

I am very new to this, but have been doing some reading. I am also a very curious soul that likes to understand what is going on. I obtained the computer in a raffle, so I did not get to research or pick the loop. I might eventually swap it to copper or take it out and air cool. I don't really overclock. For me, reliability lower sound level and not high maintenance are the three most important in my PC. Its not a perfect match. In fact, its had several issues, but it was a pre-release... so who knows. I do know that I need to learn how to flush it and refill it without making a mess... this last time was bad.

I have one of the powerspec EKWB systems with an all aluminum and acrylic loop. I am not sure what fluid I should run in it. It came the the EKWB coolant, and it gunked it up a little in less than a year. I used primochill dye, so maybe that played a role I don't know. I have been told no kill coils and no PT nuke. Any thoughts?

I am also curious. I have read that AIOs are generally aluminum, and require no maintenance. Would it be possible to run fluids longer on an aluminum custom loop? I have very little air in mine, usually about 2CC of air right at the top of the block where the port is. I could make a modification to reduce the air even further if needed.

 

[Blaylock]

Since you are new to water cooling I would highly recommend reading up as much as you can. Here is a good link of links if you will.

As far as your system getting gunked up, I would say with near certainly that the dye that you added is the cause for the gumming up. We pretty much discourage people from these dyes in all but "show pieces". The added maintenance truly isn't worth it. Stick with a pre-mixed solution without color. The benefit of an AIO (closed loop cooler) is there is little to no maintenance. install it and run it til it dies, then replace it. A custom loop can be expanded and individual parts can be replaced when they expire, therefore lasting for generations of builds. A slight amount of air in your loop like you are describing isn't an issue, just try and get it to work its self to the reservoir where it will not affect the cooling at all.

 

[occamsblade]

Since you are new to water cooling I would highly recommend reading up as much as you can. Here is a good link of links if you will.

As far as your system getting gunked up, I would say with near certainly that the dye that you added is the cause for the gumming up. We pretty much discourage people from these dyes in all but "show pieces". The added maintenance truly isn't worth it. Stick with a pre-mixed solution without color. The benefit of an AIO (closed loop cooler) is there is little to no maintenance. install it and run it til it dies, then replace it. A custom loop can be expanded and individual parts can be replaced when they expire, therefore lasting for generations of builds. A slight amount of air in your loop like you are describing isn't an issue, just try and get it to work its self to the reservoir where it will not affect the cooling at all.

What is a good fluid to use? Can I get away with just distilled water? The tops of my blocks are clear, so i can see if they are getting gunked up now that I know what to look for.

Also, do you know of anywhere to get accessories for an all aluminum system? I really want a drain in it. I had put one in there, but that was before I found out about it being aluminum or even about not mixing metals. I had some caps in there that were brass too, but they were powder coated / painted. So I think I got lucky. What I thought was corrosion at first was mostly gunk from the fluids. A little tomato juice and a toothbrush and it came off. There are a few pits, but those look more like machining / rough handling pits that corrosion. I will attach pics in the other thread. They are on my other laptop. I am trying to think about why having to change the fluid bothers me so much. I think it is two things: cost of the fluids (which isn't a ton, but seems unreasonable considering its mostly water and some antifreeze), and the fact that I have not figured out how to do it neatly. I ordered a better fill port cap (acrylic) and discovered putting tubing on the end of the squeeze bottle. But I lost my drain port so its back to being a pain. I am guessing next time I wont have to disassemble everything - and that is part of what is annoying me now, but is not really due to the fluid change. That is because a fan died and I could not remove it without removing the radiator- dang screw was in too tight of a spot.

If I could just drain it, squeeze fluid back in and not put the components at risk with all of this work, that would be ok. Is that what I am looking at - or is it a loop tear down every year? Right now I am really annoyed with it... I apologize if that comes through. The fan dies, the replacement fan had a RGB controller that failed within a half hour. Then I plugged all my waterblocks RGB into the 12v header instead of the 5v header and fried them, I waited almost a month for EK to send me the replacements I ordered. I ordered another set of the same fans, it was DOA. I gave up on EK, wanting my computer back so reassembled it over the weekend. Almost no RGB, but running perfect. I shut it down, go to visit a friend, come home hit the power button and nothing happens. No lights on the MB, no beep, no fans. Dead. Power supply tests good, tried over riding the case switch, no luck. Probably a dead motherboard. Still under warranty, I ship it off today. Come home from work and the new fans and RGB are waiting... but I still don't have my computer. So, yeah. Frustrated, wondering if maybe I got water somewhere and did not see it.

 

[Blaylock]

I get your frustration. I've had a little trouble with EK but as soon as I notified them of my issue they resolved it promptly. I'm surprised you're have difficulty with them. They are one of the premiere water cooling companies. If I was forced to guess, I'd say it's because their all aluminum cooling kits are their budget friendly kits.

As for your coolant goes EK coolant is good. I forget the name of the other brand that gets suggested here frequently. Mayhem is the other brand that people seem to suggest quit often. If you wish to mix your own than you can go with distilled water and mayhems pN nuke.

The reason other companies no longer recommend kill coils is because it has been found to cause issues in some builds that use bare copper & nickle plating. The plating actually can be stripped from one block and added to the other. I have not experienced this myself but they see far more builds than me. So I would trust their studies.

As for drains and maintaining your loop, you can always use plastic valves regardless of your metals. They are cheap too. I've never build an aluminum loop but if I had one that's the way I would go. I flush my loop and refill every 6 months but most go a full year before flushing and refilling. I know several people who go much longer than that, but I would not recommend it. Too me the risk isn't worth the small amount of money and little bit of time.

JMHO

 

[occamsblade]

I get your frustration. I've had a little trouble with EK but as soon as I notified them of my issue they resolved it promptly. I'm surprised you're have difficulty with them. They are one of the premiere water cooling companies. If I was forced to guess, I'd say it's because their all aluminum cooling kits are their budget friendly kits.

As for your coolant goes EK coolant is good. I forget the name of the other brand that gets suggested here frequently. Mayhem is the other brand that people seem to suggest quit often. If you wish to mix your own than you can go with distilled water and mayhems pN nuke.

The reason other companies no longer recommend kill coils is because it has been found to cause issues in some builds that use bare copper & nickle plating. The plating actually can be stripped from one block and added to the other. I have not experienced this myself but they see far more builds than me. So I would trust their studies.

As for drains and maintaining your loop, you can always use plastic valves regardless of your metals. They are cheap too. I've never build an aluminum loop but if I had one that's the way I would go. I flush my loop and refill every 6 months but most go a full year before flushing and refilling. I know several people who go much longer than that, but I would not recommend it. Too me the risk isn't worth the small amount of money and little bit of time.

JMHO

Where can you find a plastic valve? I tried looking on amazon and could not find one. I saw one that said it was aluminum... but I wasn't sure if the entire thing was aluminum or just the outer line. It would be my luck they would have brass balls. As to local shops available for parts here.... yeah... there is a best buy about an hour away and a microcenter about 3.5 hrs each way. So, amazon / new egg has been the only source besides EKs site. As regards their customer service, I suspect it was because I ordered a bunch of o-rings and LEDs. They just started allowing parts orders. With any new process there are issues - and I seem to find most of them.

Note: PT nuke + aluminum = badness. PT nuke has copper in it.

 

[Blaylock]

Here's a list I made of great online sources for all things PC (or tech in general). Some are better than others naturally.

For water cooling parts I usually stick with Performance PCs, EKWB, ModMyMods, or even Amazon. Fry's may be another good choice. They are like Canada's version of Microcenter IIRC. Actually, Home Depot has some plastic fittings/valves. Definitely do some more research on what you can mix with aluminum before buying though. I've never used plastic before but I know others have. Certain rubbers can have leeching problems, I'm not sure if plastics would fall under that same category. Maybe others can chime in here.

Side note: If you click the links in the Cyber Deals post then order from those sites it helps keep Overclockers.com up and running.

 

[Alaric]

Side note: If you click the links in the Cyber Deals post then order from those sites it helps keep Overclockers.com up and running.

I did not know this. I will bear it in mind going forward, though.

 

[EarthDog]

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Closing... he is discussing this in a duplicate thread.

https://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/795314-Aluminum-plus-copper